USDA: Modified wheat appears to be isolated

WASHINGTON — The Agriculture Department says it has no indications that genetically modified wheat found in Oregon last month has spread beyond the field in which it was found.

By MARY CLARE JALONICK

WASHINGTON — The Agriculture Department says it has no indications that genetically modified wheat found in Oregon last month has spread beyond the field in which it was found.

No genetically engineered wheat has been approved for U.S. farming, and the department is investigating how the engineered wheat got in the field. It is the same strain that was legally tested by seed giant Monsanto a decade ago but never approved.

USDA spokesman Matt Paul said in a statement Friday that the department has no evidence "that this incident amounts to more than a single isolated incident in a single field on a single farm."

Japan, Korea and Taiwan have suspended imports of western white wheat from the Pacific Northwest as the USDA investigates.